Bird-trap.



` PATENTED MAR. 7, l905.

0. H. & F. H. VOELKERDING.

BIRD TRAP.

APPLIOATIoN FILED JULY 9, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No. 784,453. PATENTED MAR. '7, 1905. 0. H. & P. H. VOELKERDING.

BIRD TRAP.

APPLICATION IILIID JULY 9, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lINITED 'STATES Patented March 7, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

OTTO H. VOELKERDING AND FREDERICK H. VOELKERDNG, OF AUGUSTA,

' MISSOURI.

BIRD-TRAP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 784,453, dated March '7, 1905.

Application filed July 9. 1904. Serial No. 215,899.

Be it known that we, OT'ro H. VouLKERDING and FREDERICK H. VOELKERDING, citizens of the United States, residing at Augusta, in the county of St. Olia1'les,State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bird-Traps; and we do hereby declare the 'following' to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will lo enable others skilled in the art to which it appcrtains to make and use the same.

lhis invention relates to traps, and especially to those designed for catching' birds, though it may be altered, if desired, to catch i5 animals of different kinds.

The object of the invention is to provide a trap which will be automatically set after a victim has been caug'ht thereby and which will be simple of construction and cheap of 2o manufacture.

A further object is to provide a trap including two compartments and which will be so arranged that the passage of the victim from one passag'e to the other will be assured.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, and it will be understood that modifications of the specilic construction shown maybe made and any suitable materials may be used for the 3o various parts without departing' from the spirit of the invention.

ln the drawings forming a portion of this specilication, and in which like characters of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, Fig'ure 1 is a perspective view of the trap` Fig'. 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Fig'. 1. Fig'. 3 is a transverse section taken on line 3 3 of Fig'. 3. Fig'. Ll is a viewof one end of the revoluble member.' Fig'. 5 is a View of the 4o opposite end of the revoluble member.

teferring' now to the drawings, the present invention comprises a body portion 6, including' side walls 7 and 8 and end walls 9 and 10, teg'ether with a top and bottom 11 and 12. rl`he body portion is divided transversely into two compartments 13 and 14 by a partition 15, having' an opening' 16 therethrough, for a purpose to be presently described. rlhe end wall 9 of the body portion is provided with an y opening' 17 therethrough, and pivotcd upon 50 its central longitudinal axis between the wall 9 andthe partition 15 is a cylindrical member 18, having' a vertical longitudinally-extending' central partition n, and extending' at rig'ht ann g'les to this partition are plates 7) and c, which 55 extend from end to end of the member 18 and form the top and bottom of a compartment 19 at one side of the member 18. Opening` through the ends of the cylindrical member are passages 2O and 21, these passages being' dis- 60 posed in the ends 22 and 23, respectively, of the member and communicating with the4 compartment 19, thel opening' 21 being' disposed adjacent to the bottom of the compartment and the opening 20 being adjacent to the top 65 The end pieces 2Q and 23 of the cylinder 70 are spaced sligl'itly from the wall 9 and the partition 15, and in these spaces are plates 24 and 25, the former lying' adjacent to the partition 15 and the latter adjacent to the wall 9, and these plates are pivotcd to the partition and to the wall. respectively, and are movable to bring' their opposite ends into and out of position to close the openings 16 and 17. Each of the plates is provided with a transverse arc-shaped slot 26, which are engaged SO with the pivot-pins Q7 of the cylindrical member 18, and these plates are also provided with longitudinally-extemling slots Q7', lying' between the slots 26 and the pivoted ends of the plates, and with these slots 27 are engaged 85 pins Q8, carried by the end pieces of the cylindrical member. lt will thus be apparent that when the cylindrical member is moved upon its pivot the plates Q4 and 25 will be moved into and out of position to close the openings 16 and 17, as mentioned above, and the arrangement of the plates is such that when the opening' 21 is moved into registration with the opening' 16 the plate 9A: will be moved out of position to cover the opening,

so that communication is established between the compartment 19 and the compartment 14. The normal position of the cylindrical member, however, is with the just-mentioned openings out of registration with each other, the

Vedges of the openings overlapping to some extent, and the plate 24 lying in operative poopposite side of the cylindrical member from the compartment 19 being suitably weighted to hold the member in such position.

` The end wall 10 of the body portion is provided with an opening 29, fitted with a glass' closure 30, for a purpose to be presently described, and the wall 8 is provided with a door 31, opening into the compartment 14.

In use the trap is disposed in a tree or in other suitable position and the birds enter it through the opening 17, passing through the opening 2O into the compartment 19. The weight of a bird within this compartment is sufficient to move lthe cylindrical member 18 out of its normal position to aline the opening 21 with the opening 16, as mentioned above, and the bird seeing the light within the compartment 14, which is admitted thereto through the opening 30, will pass through the openings 21 and 16 to the compartment 14, when the cylindrical member will return to its normal position.

The plates 24 and 25 not only perform the functionsl described above, but also act to limit the movement of the cylindrical member upon its pivots, as will be readily understood.

What is claimed is- 1. A trap comprising a body portion, a partition disposed within the body portion and having an opening therethrough, a cylindrical member pivoted between the partition and one end of the body portion, said end having an opening therethrough, said cylindrical member having a compartmentin one sideand havingopenings through its ends communicating with said compartment, said cylindrical member being arranged for movement to bringits openings into and out of alinement with the openings in the end of the body portion and the partition, the openingsof the cylindrical member being arranged to lie one in alinement with its respective opening in the body portion when the other is out of such alinement, a plate disposed between the cylindrical member and the partition, a second plate disposed between the cylindrical member and the wall of the body portion, said plates being pivoted for movement into and out of position to cover the openings in the partition and the wall, and means for moving the plates out of such position, when the cylindrical member is moved to aline its openings with the openings of the partition and wall. I

2. A trap comprising a body portion having an opening through one of its walls, a partition disposed within the body portion and lying parallel to said wall and having an opening therethrough, a member pivoted between said partition and wall and having a compartment therein at one side of its center ot' pivotal movement, said member having openings in its ends communicating with the compartment and arranged for movement into and out of position to aline its openings with those of the partition and wall, said openings being disposed to lie one in registration with the opening of the partition when the other is out ot' registration with the opening of the wall, means for holding the pivoted member yieldably out oi' suoli position and with its lastnamed opening in registration with thatof the wall, means for closing the openingof the partition when the opening or' the pivoted member is out of registration therewith, means for closing the opening oi' the wall when the opening of the pivoted member is out of registration therewith, means for admitting light to the body portion at the opposite side ot' the partition from the pivoted member, one or' the walls of the body portion having an opening communicating with the interior of the body portion at said side of the partition, and a closure for the opening.

In testimony whereof we aiiix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

OTTO H. VOELKERDING. Y FRED. H. VOELKERDING. Titnessesz WV. T. Os'rHoFF, FRED OsTHoFF. 

